Social sustainability plan for Sun Peaks

The Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality is developing a Social Sustainability Plan (SSP) for the community. It will articulate our shared vision for the future of the social aspects of the community, including: recreation and leisure; arts, culture and heritage; education and learning; housing; health; and participation and partnerships.

The Social Sustainability Plan will be one of the components of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP), support the Economic Sustainability Plan and Environmental/Land Use Plan, and provide direction for the development of an Official Community Plan for Sun Peaks.

Led by the resort municipality and the Centre for Sustainability in Whistler, the plan will be developed between now and the summer, and will be informed by an advisory team comprised of staff, Council, partner organizations and citizen representatives. Once developed, the SSP will be used to guide decisions and activities at all levels and across all functions. If you are interested in participating on the advisory team, please contact the municipality at cao@sunpeaksmunicipality.ca

You may ask, “What is an OCP and an ICSP and what is the difference between the two? And why do we need to update them anyway?”

An ICSP creates a shared inspirational vision for the future of the community that should guide all decision-making. ICSPs aim to position communities for success in the short and long-term by incorporating sustainability principles that help us consider the needs of citizens today while making sure the needs of future citizens (like our grandchildren) will be met down the road.

An OCP is a regulatory document that is required by the BC provincial government. It is mainly a document that guides land use and development decisions, but can include a broader range of policies to guide most local government decisions.

Opportunities for Public Input:

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW – BEFORE MARCH 15: The first opportunity for public input is through a 10-minute online survey about the issues and opportunities facing the community, as well as what you love and what you would change about the social aspects of Sun Peaks. Please take the survey before March 15, 2013, by scanning the QR code or visiting: www.surveymonkey.com/s/SunPeaksSocialSustainability.

Focus group sessions are planned for late April with students, business owners and others. Please stay tuned for more about these opportunities.